We probably all know at lest one person in college who is a frequent drinker. There could be a number of reasons as to why they drink, but how does drinking affect their schoolwork? Does having a popular sports team at a school cause more students to drink more? These and other questions would make a good topic, because almost everyone is around alcohol, but they might not know why.

There is more to the web than Facebook and Twitter, and for this reason there is a need to find out which information is helpful to you and which is not. Finding certain information on the internet can be quite a task. This is where curating comes in.

In an audio interview, Jon Vickers talks about curating for a film festival. He believes curating involves “filtering out noise” of irrelevant pieces, or pieces that are boring. He also talks about the key to good curating is to have good entry points to get the crowds attention, but there also has to be a challenge in the piece to keep them interested and make them think.

Rohit Bhargava also has an opinion on the importance and future of curating in this article. The biggest reason curating is important is because he thinks “in just a few years we will reach a point where all the information on the Internet will double every 72 hours.” This will make it increasingly difficult to find anything of use to use. With that much information available, knowing how to find what you need could make the difference between achieving your goal and having nothing.

David Siders recently posted an article about a new law which was recently passed in California. This law would allow for students at certain schools in California to have access to free online textbooks for 50 basic level classes.

Darrell Steinberg, the Senate President Pro Tem, said “”The current cost of traditional textbooks is so high, some college students are forced to struggle through a required class without the textbook, forced to drop classes or sometimes even drop out of college altogether. There’s absolutely no reason a basic biology, statistics or accounting textbook, for example, should cost $200.”

Steinberg brings up a good point. As a student, every semester I feel the pain of the cost of textbooks. Online texts would be beneficial in the long run. The publishing companies probably do not care for it, however a deal was made and the publishing companies no longer object.

The senate bill no. 1053 describes the nitty-gritty of the needs that are to be met. The bill calls for online text books to be available for free to students and staff, which is more convenient and efficient. The main reason this bill is being discussed is because often students going to school on grants are forced to use most of their money on books when they also need it for transportation, food, and other necessities. However, this can only be enacted if No. 1052 is enacted first.

Senate bill no. 1052 which is the first part and much lengthier than 1053, says most of the same things as 1053. 1052 does, however, include much of the “fine print” in this law. Things such as who is entitled to the free online books, what the conditions are, etc.

This is a positive step forward, and while this is not about an online class, there is a clear trend in the way the internet is being utilized. Lawmakers are finally realizing to high cost of textbooks and how difficult it is for some students to afford the required texts. Hopefully this law passes, causing other states and universities to follow suite. This could potentially have major effects on grades as well. From my own experiences, if I spent less on books, i would be able to work less and spend more time on my classes. Over the next few years I could see many other schools across the country doing things similar to this.

Some people wonder if their credits will transfer from an online class to another college. This article has some tips for people who are thinking of making a transfer, and how to make sure you keep your credits.

This article answers some questions about which credits can transfer and how someone could tell if they can transfer credits before they take the class.

Continuing my search for information regarding online classes, I came across a site filled with facts about online learning. This article only gives facts about K-12 online classes, however it does show that the number of students taking classes online is on the rise. An additional advantage for online classes is that sometimes teachers or students can go off on tangents. This would cut down on class time, and for students on a time crunch, this would be a waste of time. This article also revels a study that shows, on average, students tend to score slightly higher in online classes compared to their classroom counterparts. Another article I found gave answers to questions regarding online degrees and benefits of online classes. This article from The New York Times argues that having to go to a physical classroom will create accountability for students.

The Storify piece I have chosen to write about is the use of online classes for college students. Many students at IUSB and other schools have to drive to campus three or four days a week and may also work one or more jobs. This can cause serious stress over the course of the semester. I have decided to look up some advantages and disadvantages to online classes to see if they are worth taking from home.

This article from The New York Times talks about the increase in students taking online courses and how much that number is expected to grow in the coming years.

Another article I found which helpful had 10 advantages to taking online classes. One of the tips was that, generally, online classes cost less. Any college student I know would appreciate that.

There are also some disadvantages to online classes. A major problem with them this article pointed out was there is a lack of supervision, which does not work well with some students.

An additional disadvantage is discussed here. This article mentions the unique experience of seeing a debate form in the classroom, one that could lead to you understanding a different point of view.

I also read this article about the cost of online courses. It gave information and multiple comparisons of different programs and schools, along with the financial burden that comes with each.